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Striker Shivendra Singh's jubilation after India's emphatic win over Pakistan in the Hockey World Cup has been cut short. Shivendra, who scored the opening goal for India in the match, has been suspended for three matches. The punishment was handed for a regulation move to surge ahead o

Striker Shivendra Singh's jubilation after India's emphatic win over Pakistan in the Hockey World Cup has been cut short. Shivendra, who scored the opening goal for India in the match, has been suspended for three matches.

The punishment was handed for a regulation move to surge ahead of his Pakistani opponent. It has left the Indian coach and former players crying foul.

"I have never seen a punishment of three matches in any tournament," said Jose Brasa, chief coach of the Indian hockey team.

But the International Hockey Federation (FIH) disagreed.

Anyone who has played hockey would know that Shivendra was only trying to run faster and that he needed to hold his stick in both hands to generate speed. His contact with Pakistan's Fareed Ahmed was absolutely accidental, which is what Shivendra also told Ken Read, the tournament's director.

But Read has still banned the striker for three games. "A four-match ban was probably appropriate but I gave a one-match reduction considering the good history of the player," said Read.

The punishment doesn't make sense considering how Read himself eulogised Shivendra's brilliant record.

The striker has played 110 games over six years for India and has not a single suspension to his name.

Read didn't even want to hand out the minimum punishment of two matches. Given how obvious an accident this incident was, FIH's decision smacks of an anti-India bias.

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